


The Sendivogius Conundrum

by mugglesandmuses



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Post Hogwarts AU, Romance, dramione - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-13 01:39:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7133327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mugglesandmuses/pseuds/mugglesandmuses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione Granger's life hasn't gone the way she's planned. She's single, stuck in a horrible job, and living a safe and boring existence. A chance encounter leaves her yearning for the adventures of her youth and thrusts her into a new quest with someone she would have never thought possible, Draco Malfoy. Together they must race against the clock to find the mysterious codex of Michael Sendivogius and thwart a new gang of enemies. Will this investigation lead to something more or will it lead to her end?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Offer

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling, Warner Brother and affiliates. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Hermione Granger prided herself on being many things; clever, courageous, and loyal but she never considered herself a fool. So when the young man in Flourish and Blotts attempted to raise the price of her book by 10 Galleons simply because she was Hermione Granger she nearly laughed in his face. Thankfully the owner rushed over and offered her a discount for his nephew’s ludicrous idea which she gladly accepted.

When she left the shop she decided to treat herself to a sweet for saving money on a rather expensive book. She looked up at the gloomy clouds that started to roll in above Diagon Alley and rushed into the nearest ice cream shop, hoping the rain could hold off until she was able to get back to work. The line inside Florean’s was short enough and so Hermione ordered the special May Day lavender and toffee cone, complete with flowers that would pop out of the scoop of ice cream anytime someone would lick it. Hermione checked her watch and looked out at the rain that had started to pour. She had to be back at work within the next thirty minutes and wouldn’t have the time to wait until the rain stopped. She pulled the hood of her jacket up and decided to brave the weather.

As she ran out of the doorway she didn’t see the person running toward her until they both collided. Hermione fell into a deep puddle with her ice cream smearing all over her jacket. A moment later the large body followed her into the puddle, pushing her farther into the mud. She could feel her clothes becoming instantly soaked and gave up all hope that she would make it back to work on time.

“I’m so sorry,” said the body as they moved above her, scrambling to get up. They reached down a pale and rather large hand, a man must have knocked her down, to help her out of the puddle. She took it and pulled the hood of her jacket down, gathering her unruly hair into a bun in order to examine the damage done to her clothes.

“Granger?” She looked up at the man responsible and was greeted with a pale and familiar face looking at her in shock.

“Malfoy,” Hermione frowned, noticing he didn’t have a speck of mud on his robes, “taking back your apology are you?”

He sneered at her, “actually I was going to offer to buy whatever is adorning your jacket.”

“Oh,” Hermione grimaced, “I’m sorry it’s been nearly four years and here I am jumping into old ways.”

Malfoy shrugged, “I would have done the same but like I said, let me replace your ice cream cone or buy you a tea or something.”

Hermione smiled, “a tea would be lovely thank you.”

Ten minutes later they were sitting inside a small cafe, finally getting warm outside of the rain. Hermione had phoned her work to let them know she was taking the rest of the day off and would be in the office on Monday. Aside from when Malfoy told her where to go they walked in silence and the growing need to talk built up in her chest. They had been in each others company for almost twenty minutes and yet hadn’t spoken more than a few words to each other.

Hermione fiddled with the tablecloth nervously, looking around the cafe. It had four other tables and only one was occupied by an older wizard reading the Daily Prophet and drinking tea. The lighting was dim and the roaring fire in the center of the room made the place feel cozy.

A waiter walked over and handed them small menus, informing them of the specials and waiting for them to order a drink.

"Just the usual Henry," Malfoy said before Hermione could ask what tea he recommended.

"Right away Mr. Malfoy," Henry took the menus from them and hurried off to the kitchen.

"The usual huh?" Hermione smirked, “Bring girls here often?”

“If I did I wouldn’t tell you about it now would I?”

Hermione frowned and bit her lip. They managed to slip into an awkward silence yet again and Hermione cleared her throat, hoping to interrupt it.

“So are you seeing anyone?”

“Why Granger? Interested. While you’re not high on my standards I supposed your brains make up for your lack of looks.”

“Actually I was just curious. Why so defensive? Haven’t gotten it in for a while?” Hermione glared, crossing her arms. She had a sneaking suspicion that Malfoy had simply invited her just to insult her.

Malfoy smirked, “I don’t have much time for dating if you must know Granger. Although I can assume the same for you. What was it? 5 months ago you and the Weasel called it quits after being engaged for all of five minutes? Couldn’t stand fucking with the lights on could he?”

Hermione felt her jaw clench. She stood, nearly knocking over the table in the process, “You are such a prat.” She gathered her coat and stormed out of the cafe. It didn’t matter that the rain hadn’t let up. Maybe it would wash away the Malfoy filth on her, she thought ruefully.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

Hermione woke to a tapping at the window in her kitchen. She glanced at her clock and the bright green numbers glared 2:07 am at her. She rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep. When the pecking at the window wouldn’t persist Hermione dragged herself out of bed to see what was so urgent. An Eagle Owl continued to tap her window with a letter firmly in it’s beak. Hermione opened the window and the bird flew in, dropping the envelope on the counter and flying back out the way it came.

Hermione stared at the offending mail, glancing at her clock to confirm it was too early on a Saturday morning to be awake. She snatched the letter up, trying to decipher who’s handwriting it was. She didn’t recognize the owl and the penmanship was only vaguely familiar to her.

She opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. The paper itself felt expensive and she had a sneaking suspicion who this mail was from. She opened it and out fell a piece of paper. She examined it, noting it was an address in Wiltshire, and continued on to the contents of the envelope.

_ Granger, _

_ I apologize for my appalling behavior earlier today. You unfortunately caught me on a bad day and I in no way meant to offend you over tea. It is a good thing we ran into one another, although running into you literally wasn’t the best way to start off an encounter. I had been meaning to contact you about something I am currently working on and would like your consulting advice on said project. Please accept my invitation for tea Sunday at 11 in the morning. I have enclosed the address to Malfoy Manor and have adjusted the wards accordingly. If you would please join me I would like to further discuss my proposition for you. Looking forward to seeing you. _

_ Regards, _

_ Draco Malfoy _

Hermione read the letter twice more, sure that this was a simple joke or she was still dreaming. She abandoned the paper on her counter and headed to bed once more. She would deal with this in the morning.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

When Hermione woke later in the morning she couldn’t get the letter out of her head. As she started her morning routine her mind continued to wander to the contents of the note. What was it that was so important to Draco Malfoy that he would lower himself to apologize to Hermione Granger? That was a puzzle Hermione found herself trying to solve in the shower and as she made her breakfast.

By noon she had decided she wouldn’t grace him with her presence, curiosity be damned.

By dinner her curiosity won out and she sent her reply letting him know she would be attending.

Now she sat in her room debating about what to wear to the Malfoy Manor of all places. She would never be able to forget what had happened the last time she was there and she prepared herself for the possibility of running into one or more of the senior Malfoys. Although from what she had read in the tabloids (she only actually read them whenever there was a story about her filled with the lies of Rita Skeeter) Malfoy was estranged from his parents.

Never mind the fact that she was actually debating what to wear. Hermione Granger never debated what to wear. She decided to just go with jeans and a jumper. It was simple enough and she wasn’t sure what exactly would be happening tomorrow.

When she woke up in the morning she rolled over to look at her clock. 8:03. She decided to lay in bed for another hour before getting up to get ready. Hermione Granger may not care about her looks but she was always punctual. And it would take at least half an hour to tame her hair into somewhat of a bun. She didn’t want to look like she tried hard to impress Malfoy (because she definitely wasn’t trying to impress Malfoy) but she did want to look somewhat decent. He had extended the invitation and she didn’t want to show up looking like she didn’t care. Especially since he had written the intention was that he needed her help.

At five of 11 she apparated to the Malfoy Manor. When she reached the property she paused, hoping that he did change the wards like he had said, and walked past the gates. When the wards didn’t reject her she continued on. The nerves hadn’t started until she saw the daunting building coming closer to her. The memories of her torture during the war weren’t new but they still burned. She rubbed her scar, steeling herself for the possibility of having a flashback. Fighting in a war when you’re only 17 doesn’t do well with the psyche. PTSD was rampant in their generation and Hermione wasn’t immune to it.

She stopped once more at the door, taking a deep breath before knocking. Within a few seconds the door opened and she was greeted by a small house elf in the entryway. She was ushered in and she took off her coat, placing it on the hooks beside the door. As soon as she left it, the garment disappeared, leaving the entryway as neat as it had been when she entered.

“Hello Missy Granger,” the elf said, beaming up at her, “Master Draco was expecting Missy Granger and told Daisy that Missy Granger is kind to house elves. Master Draco said Missy Granger may even give Daisy clothes but she has lots already.”

“Malfoy has given you clothes?”

Daisy nodded her head, her ears flopping about, “Yes. Master Draco has given Daisy many clothes but Daisy likes Master Draco. Master Draco even pays Daisy.”

“Oh,” Hermione said, smiling awkwardly at Daisy. She never expected someone like Malfoy to pay anyone for their services let alone a house elf.

“Follow Daisy, Missy Hermione.”

The elf turned around and walked down the hallway. Hermione followed her and stopped outside the parlor of the manor. The doors were shut and she gingerly touched the wood, recalling the horrors that happened behind those closed doors.

“Granger.”

Hermione jerked her head up, staring at Malfoy. She took her hand away from the door as if the memories burned her skin. She glanced once more at the door before walking quickly toward him. He stared over her shoulder at the room before motioning for her to move into the room next to it. When she wandered in she felt her heart flutter at the sight. As far as she could see were bookshelves upon bookshelves. She had to resist the urge to run toward them and examine the books Malfoy had in his personal library.

“I figured you’d be more comfortable here for tea,” he smirked at her.

“This is actually quite impressive Malfoy.”

Hermione wandered to one of the shelves, looking at the different novels he owned. She looked back at him as he ran his fingers along a few books, studying the dust that collected on his digits.

“Well my family has been collecting these books for centuries. Some of the ones we own are the only copies in the world.”

Hermione itched to be able to peek at those particular books.

“I didn’t invite you here to discuss my library, however much it would please you. I actually have a job offer of sorts for you.”

“A job offer? As what your secretary?”

Malfoy shook his head, rolling his eyes in the process, and motioned to the table.

“Please sit and we can discuss it over tea.”

Hermione walked over to the small table by the window. You could see part of the garden from there and she mused it would be a nice place to read a book on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Malfoy pulled her chair out for her and she sat quickly. His hand brushed against her back and he chuckled as she fidgeted.

“So what exactly is it you want Malfoy?”

“Getting right to the point I see.”

He paused for a moment, watching as a tea pot and two cups appeared on the table. He poured it into both cups and pointed to the sugars, “add whatever you like.”

Hermione stared, waiting for him to take a sip before she reached for her own cup.

“You really think I would try to poison you?” The ghost of a sneer crossed his face before he returned to the stoney expression that he wore through most of the day.

“Old habits,” Hermione shrugged. She swished two sugars into her tea, letting it stir itself while she contemplated what to say next.

“So tell me more about whatever it is I’m here for.”

“Very well.”

Malfoy put down his tea and got up. He walked to the first bookshelf and grabbed a worn looking book. He sat back down placing it on the table.

“This is the diary of Michael Sendivogius. He was a Polish alchemist working on many theories in terms of alchemy. I’ve been experimenting with his theories but I need to find out more. It’s believed he had a codex that has since been lost. I’d like to hire you to be on my team of researchers to find it. The pay would be more than plentiful for you and I would only need you for research.”

“I don’t need a new job Malfoy.”

“Ah but it must so be awkward seeing your former fiance everyday as you toil away at your desk on meaningless projects. At least with this you’ll be able to have another adventure. I’m sure you’ve been craving it since the lull of normalcy would bore someone like you.”

“So you want me to give up my job, my good job with great benefits, to help you find this codex, that may or may not even exist, simply because you assume I’m bored with my life?”

“Uh yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “that’s the gist of it.”

Hermione wasn’t sure how to respond. To be honest, the idea wasn’t unappealing to her. The ability to do actual investigative work and pursue an endeavor stuck in her chest. She truly missed her teen years of mystery solving and adventuring, though she could have done without the whole Voldemort-trying-to-kill-Harry thing.

“Honestly Malfoy I’ll have to think about it.”

He leaned forward in his seat, smirking at her, “but that isn’t a no.”

Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes, “it’s not a definite no. I’ve got a lot to think about if I do decided to take you up on this. I’ll owl you in a week with my response.”

He smiled at her, actually smiled, “I knew I’d win you over Granger.”

Hermione shook her head, hiding her smile behind a fake cough. She got up, ignoring the rest of her tea and awkwardly looked around.

“I should probably get going.”

“Oh,” Malfoy clambered up from the table as well, “I’ll show you out.”

Hermione held up her hands, “oh no it’s fine. I think I remember the way out.”

“Let me be polite Granger.”

They both stood their ground, stubbornness clashing together until finally Hermione relented. She might as well let him be polite now before they fall back into their habits of name calling and rudeness.

Malfoy motioned for her to go ahead of him and he silently shut the door behind them. They walked down the hallway and he didn’t say anything if they sped up just a bit more when they passed the doors of the parlor. When Hermione glanced over at them again she was silently relieved to notice Malfoy walking swiftly next to her, blocking the memories from view. She wondered if he could remember that day as vividly as she could. Unconsciously her hand itched at her scar and she pretended not to notice his eyes shifting to her arm for a moment.

They made it to the front entrance finally and Hermione turned to face Malfoy, unsure of what to say. How did one say goodbye to the person who used to torment them in school? Malfoy looked like he was struggling to say something as well and Hermione used the moment of awkward silence to grab her coat, which had appeared on the hook, quickly.

“Well I’ll owl you in a week,” she said as she shrugged it on.

“I look forward to your response.”

They stood for another beat in silence before he remembered his manners and opened the door for her. She stepped out, turning around to give him a little wave, and apparated away.

She didn’t stick around long enough to hear him say, “Goodbye Hermione.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my newest story! I've had this planned out for months and I've spent that time writing and researching. I've decided to finally let this story see the light of day and I hope you enjoyed it. I hope to update on a weekly schedule as long as I can keep ahead of myself and I plan to post a new chapter every Tuesday. As always kudos and reviews are welcome and I will see y'all next week!


	2. Deliberation

The thought of working with Malfoy swirled around her head for the next few days. She had returned home on Sunday and busied herself with simple tasks in order to get the conversation out of her head. By Monday it wouldn’t leave her alone and she caught herself wondering what it would be like to get out of the Ministry for a little bit. By Tuesday she chucked that idea out of her head, knowing full well that the Ministry wouldn’t welcome her back if she took a few months off.

On Wednesday Ron happened to find his way to her office, asking her to take over one of his projects he had fallen behind on. He had been applying to transfer to the auror program and couldn’t juggle all of the work at once. He didn’t stay long enough for Hermione to actually answer and she angrily threw the files in the bin when he left.

Thursday was her turning point. Everything that day annoyed her about the Ministry. The chatty witches and wizards that didn’t try hard enough, the fact that Ron dumped work on her simply because he knew she would do it, and the amount of time she put in on projects only to have it overlooked by her superiors.

Friday was the end of her rope. Her boss, who could never get her name right, paid her a visit twenty minutes before she was supposed to leave.

“Miss Grongers,” he said that morning, barging into her office. He was a large man with an even larger beard. If he wasn’t so rude she would think he could have been related to Hagrid.

“Granger.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.” Hermione slunk farther into her chair as her boss tried to maneuver around her impossibly small office. There were boxes of files everywhere and barely enough room for her desk let alone another chair for visitors. He stood awkwardly, leaning on a tower of boxes that could fall at any moment were it not for Hermione charming them to stay in place.

“I’ll need you to come in early on Monday. I’ve got an appointment with an old friend and I need someone to come in and finish one of the projects I’m overseeing.”

“Sir,” Hermione said slowly, “I have Monday off remember?”

“Oh right,” he looked around, “I’ll need you to come in anyways. I’ll be in by 4:30 and you can leave after that.”

“That is when I normally leave. Besides I can’t work on Monday. I’ve already made plans.”

“Are you going away?”

Hermione shook her head, afraid of what she might say if she open her mouth to speak.

“Then you can just cancel your plans.” He laughed, “You’re always a bit muddled there Grongers. And I heard you had been the brightest witch of your age.”

He laughed all the way out of her office and Hermione silently fumed. Malfoy’s proposal was seeming more and more appealing by the minute. She gathered her coat and any projects that were still needing work and stormed out of the office. Damn anyone that tried to stop her.

She flooed home, throwing her things on her coffee table and sat heavily on her couch. All she wanted to do was help people but right now everything that happened at work was the opposite of that. She was always given the smaller tasks because she was apparently too “muddled” to do anything of value.

She sat and simmered in her own anger until she realized the time. Every other Friday she had dinner with Harry, Ginny, and Teddy. It was almost like a ritual for them and she knew if she asked about her predicament they would be able to help her. She changed out of her work robes, throwing on an old jumper and some jeans, before apparating to the Potter’s home.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

Harry and Ginny had recently been married and they immediately moved into 12 Grimmauld Place. When Hermione walked into the main hall the portrait of Sirius greeted her with a smirk and wave. Harry felt it was only fitting to remodel the home, removing the hanging portraits in favor of the new ones he had commissioned. Harry had somehow managed to have portraits of the original mauraders, save for Peter Pettigrew, made and hung in the home. It was a nice touch to see them interact how they would have when they were younger. She knew it made Harry happy to have the comforts of his family hanging around him.

“Harry! Ginny!” Hermione called as she shut the door. The once decaying wallpaper had been replaced with a cream paint, lightening the house tremendously. The windows on the first floor let the sun shine in during the mornings and gave a spectacular view of the stars and moon at night.

“In the kitchen!” Harry called back and Hermione wandered toward the back of the house. Not a moment later she heard the patter of tiny feet before Teddy appeared in the doorway.

“Hermininny!” He ran toward her and she scooped him up easily, spinning him around while he giggled loudly in her ear.

“Why hello there Teddy,” she laughed as she put him down. As soon as his feet touched the floor he was off. At only four years old, Teddy loved to do what most children do best. Run around and cause havoc.

Hermione followed him into the kitchen, taking note of the two large pizza boxes that occupied part of the table. She paused for a moment and looked over at Harry who was busy grabbing plates for everyone.

“Is Ron coming?”

“Oh no he’s got a date with Lavender tonight,” Harry answered without thinking. Ginny smacked his arm and shook her head at him.

“Oh right,” Harry turned and smiled, though it resembled more of a grimace, at Hermione, “sorry.”

Hermione shrugged her shoulder. They had been apart for five months now, whatever he did in his spare time she would ignore. Ron hadn’t been to one of their makeshift family dinners since he had walked out on her. Hermione was sure Ginny was still angry at him for how he did it but she couldn’t care less anymore. She was just glad he did it before they had settled on a house to buy.

“Then what’s with the extra pizza?”

“Teddy decided he wanted to make the call tonight and Harry let him.”

Harry placed the dished on the table and looked over at Hermione, “I didn’t know he would be ordering a pizza for himself as well.”

“It’s not jus for me,” Teddy piped up, climbing into his seat, “it’s for Alan too.”

“Alan?” Hermione asked, sitting down in her usual spot.

“Yeah,” Teddy replied, reaching for a box before Ginny wisely shifted it closer to herself and gave Teddy his own piece, “my new friend.”

“Where is your new friend?”

“He’s sitting right next to you silly,” Teddy gave her a lopsided grin and rolled his eyes.

Hermione looked around before staring at Ginny, her eyebrow raising in question to the mystery friend.

“Imaginary,” Ginny mouthed to her.

Hermione nodded her head, grabbing a slice of pizza, and letting Teddy’s babble drown out the buzzing in her head concerning Malfoy and his strange proposal.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

Hermione didn’t even remember what she wanted to talk to Harry and Ginny about until long after dinner had finished. They were relaxing in the sitting room, waiting for Andromeda to pick up Teddy, when the front door opened and the unmistakable giggle of Lavender Brown filled the hallway.

Hermione felt an itching under her skin, her stomach knotting itself at the prospect of seeing Ron and Lavender together again. It wasn’t that she was still hung up on Ron, because honestly she wasn’t. It was that she just simply hated Lavender. Since their schooldays, when Ron and Lavender first had their fling, Hermione couldn’t be bothered to put up with them and seeing them now would be exactly the same.

Harry must have realized the same, or at the very least didn’t want Hermione to be hurt seeing Ron, and moved to intercept them in the hallway. He was just a few seconds too late, however, and the couple strolled into the sitting room.

Lavender stopped in her tracks, grabbing Ron’s arm and tugging his head down to her ear.

“What is she doing here?” She hissed loud enough for Hermione to hear.

Before Hermione could respond Ginny was quick with her comeback, “I could ask my idiot brother the same thing.”

Lavender looked offended, narrowing her eyes and glaring at the both of them. Ron rubbed the back of his head while she turned on him.

“Make her leave,” she whined and Hermione grit her teeth. She wasn’t about to let Lavender ruin a perfectly good night and stood.

“I was leaving anyway.”

Lavender smirked as Hermione grabbed her coat and started to shift Teddy, who had fallen asleep, off her lap. Ginny stopped her, though, and stood up from the couch.

“Hermione is our guest,” she crossed her arms, a sure sign she was standing her ground, “and seeing as how you weren’t invited you can leave.”

“Oh come one Gin,” Ron grinned at her, “we just came by to see you and grab some pizza.”

“I want you to leave Ronald,” Ginny smirked, “and take the trash with you.”

Lavender’s eyes widened at the insult and Hermione couldn’t hide her chuckle.

“Don’t be like that,” Ron looked over at his other friend, “Come on Harry. Hermione said she was leaving anyway.”

“Sorry mate,” Harry shrugged his shoulders, “Ginny said no.”

“Fine.”

Ron grabbed Lavender’s hand, stomping out and slamming the door. They sat around, silence filling the room until a knock at the door broke it.

“Must by Andromeda,” Harry said and he left to answer the door.

“Before I forget,” Hermione shifted Teddy off her lap this time, leaning toward Ginny, “I need some advice on a predicament I’ve found myself in.”

“What kind of predicament?”

Before Hermione could tell Ginny about it the source of her problem walked through the door. Malfoy stopped, his eyebrows raising in surprise at seeing Hermione there. Hermione was sure her face looked similar to his.

“Granger,” he stuffed his hands in his pockets, “fancy seeing you here.”

“Likewise,” Hermione studied him for a moment, “what are you doing here?”

“My aunt is sick so I’m picking up Teddy for her.”

Hermione nodded her head, watching as Malfoy knelt next to Teddy, shaking him awake.

“Dwaco?” Teddy’s eyes opened for a moment before shutting again.

“Yeah bud,” he smiled down at the little boy, “time to go home.”

“Okay.” Teddy made no effort to move and Malfoy chuckled. He picked Teddy up with practised ease, nodding at Hermione and Ginny.

“Say goodbye Teddy,” he whispered in Teddy’s ear. The little boy could only manage a wave as Malfoy walked toward the door. Harry moved to walk him out and he turned toward Hermione.

“I look forward to your owl,” he smirked at her, turning to follow Harry out.

Once he was gone Ginny turned to her, eyebrow raised, “what was that all about?”

“It’s a long story,” Hermione sighed.

Ginny eyed her for a moment, “This isn’t about your situation is it?”

Hermione grimaced, hoping it looked more like a smile, and shrugged her shoulders.

“Oh my God it does!”

Harry walked back into the room and before he could get a word out Ginny excitedly grabbed his arm, pulling him down to the couch.

“Hermione’s got the attention of Malfoy it seems.”

“I noticed,” Harry said, turning to look at Hermione.

She could feel her face flushing slightly before reminding herself it was nothing to get embarrassed about.

“It’s nothing like that guys. Malfoy sort of offered me a job.”

“What?”

“Really?”

“It’s nothing big, really, he just wants me to help with some research.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Well for starters, he’s Malfoy. And I’ve got that job at the Ministry to think about. Although this week has been pretty much my living hell.”

“Face it,” Ginny said, “you hate your job. You’re not doing what you thought you would be doing and it would be better for you to get away from Ron.”

“And,” Harry interjected, “Malfoy seems to have grown up since Hogwarts. We’ve even gone to the pub a few times and he’s been much better.”

“When have you gone to the pub with Malfoy?” Hermione questioned.

Harry gave her his lopsided grin, shrugging a shoulder, “He spends a lot of time with Teddy so I figured we might as well try to get along. We’ve even played Quidditch a few times when Ron wasn’t around.”

Ginny smirked, ruffling Harry’s already messy hair, “well you have it from Malfoy’s biggest fan, he’s not a complete git anymore.”

Hermione chewed on her thumbnail, “but what would people say?”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “If by people you mean Ron, don’t worry about him. He’s being a wanker and if you spend time with Malfoy in a professional setting it will drive him crazy. I know you don’t want to get back together with him but it would be fun to press his buttons.”

“But don’t do it just because it would annoy Ron,” Harry said, glaring at his wife.

“I mean I think it would be fun to do the research. And it would be nice to get away from the stupid desk.”

“Then it’s decided,” Ginny stood up, pulling Hermione with her, “you’ll owl him and tell him you’ve accepted!”

Later that night, when Hermione returned home, she finally sent her reply telling Malfoy she had accepted his offer. And if she had fallen asleep for the first time in months with a smile on her face, she would never tell a soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the love this story has received so far! As always feel free to leave reviews or kudos and I will see you guys next week!


	3. The Manor

He turned to her, the grin still plastered on his face, “Hell of a first week, huh Granger?”

Hermione sighed, wiping the soot from the explosion off her face. What had she gotten herself into?

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

Her new job wasn’t exactly what she expected which made Hermione that much happier. The research team consisted of Malfoy and herself. There was no set time for her to arrive or leave. She was paid for the time she put in, no matter how much or how little. Malfoy, for the most part, remained silent unless he was showing her something that might aid in her search.

The first day, when she arrived promptly at eight in the morning, found her running into Malfoy who looked like he had just crawled out of bed. His hair was in disarray and his nightshirt was hanging open. Hermione, who couldn’t hide her blush, mumbled a quick hello and scurried to the library. He joined her within the hour, hair still damp from the shower, with breakfast for the two. He insisted she eat with him and she reluctantly abandoned the book about 12th century alchemy in favor for a cup of tea.

“So how did your former employer take the news of your departure?” Malfoy asked as he buttered a piece of toast.

Hermione choked on her tea, staring at him with wide eyes, “Oh Merlin I forgot to owl him.”

Malfoy chuckled, “well I suppose he must know by now.”

Hermione checked her watch, “Oh bugger I would’ve been in by now. He’s probably sent at least a dozen owls to my house.”

“You could always floo him from here.”

Hermione gaped at him, “I’ve never quit a job over the floo!”

Malfoy smirked at her, “There’s always a first time for everything.”

She chewed her lip for a moment, fidgeting with the teacup in her hands, “Oh bloody hell, why not!”

Malfoy let out a bark of laughter, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use that much foul language Miss Granger, it’s hardly professional for a work environment.”

“Oh piss off,” she laughed out. Hermione really couldn’t care less.

The floo call lasted less than a minute. Just enough time for Hermione to wheeze out “I quit!” between bouts of giggles. Malfoy could be heard loudly in the background encouraging her to call her former boss “a wanker or something”. They laughed long and hard throughout the day, snickering to themselves as they searched through books.

“So what exactly is it we’re looking for?” Hermione asked as she pushed away her fifth book. So far nothing had jumped out to her pertaining to this codex.

“Anything that might lead us to the location Sendivogius hid his most prized possessions.”

Hermione sighed, cracking open the next book. They spent hours in silence, Hermione left Malfoy to search long after midnight. The following days were all the same; Hermione would arrive by eight, spend the day with her nose in a book, and leave Malfoy to continue their search late into the night. By the time Thursday rolled around their bickering returned.

“I’ve already read that one Malfoy,” Hermione grumbled as she slammed the latest book on old wizard society shut. She shoved the book away from her, rubbing her tired eyes.

“Well I’m just making sure you didn’t miss anything.”

Hermione scoffed, “I don’t  _ miss _ anything Malfoy.”

“Just like how you didn’t miss that entire chapter on Sendivogius?” He didn’t bother looking up at her as he slowly turned another page.

Hermione threw her hands up in the air, “it was after midnight! My eyes were tired. Some of us used to actually work a normal nine to five job.”

That made Malfoy glare up at her, “well if you want to go back to that shithole of a job be my guest.”

Hermione stood up, marching around the table, “you are such an arsehole sometimes.”

As she stomped away Malfoy called out to her, “where are you going?”

“To find another book!”

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

Hermione grumbled to herself as she wandered further into the depths of the Malfoy Library. They had already read through a large portion of the collection to no avail. Nothing had aided their search and they were at their wits end.

She stopped at a shelf, looking through the titles to find anything that could be of use. She muttered under her breath, brow furrowed as she read one useless book after another.

“Bloody Malfoy thinks he’s so brilliant. Has never made a mistake in his perfect pompous life. He’s a prick that’s what he is. I should just quit working with him. This was a mistake from the beginning.”

She paused her mumbles as she bent down to look at another shelf. Her anger was sparking off her fingertips but she couldn’t care less. The sooner she found a useful book the sooner she could go home and take a nice hot bath.

“Ugh,” she groaned, leaning her forehead against the bookshelf, “Malfoy is just a stupid fuckin’ prick.”

She didn’t notice as a large book shifted on top of the bookshelf, her anger rocking it dangerously close to the edge.

“Stupid Malfoy with his stupid research. I’m gonna snap and I’ll kill him one day. Fuck him and that stick up his arse.”

Her anger burst upward, catching the book and causing it to fall, right on her head.

“Merlin,” Hermione shouted, rubbing at her sore skull. She looked down at the book,  _ A Recounting of Muggle Property; Principality of Transylvania 16th and 17th Century _ , and felt the odd need to look through it.

She sat down, resting her back against the shelves and laying the book in her lap. She casually flipped through the pages, thankful she didn’t need to do any translating, when a page stopped her. She leaned closer, hoping this wasn’t her mind just playing tricks on her. She read the passage and read it twice more, making sure she didn’t miss anything. She grew more excited with each word as she read it again.

_ Despite being fully integrated into the wizarding world, Alchemist and Wizard Michael Sendivogius held property under his muggle identity  _ _ Michał Sędziwój. It is believed he prefered to perform his more private experiments without the watchful eye of the wizarding world. Tucked away in the Carpathian Mountains, his secret manor held his largest collection of books and journals. It is believed he worked on his infamous codex here and spent most of his life hidden within the muggle world. _

Hermione stood up, clutching the book to her chest, as she ran through the maze of shelves. She slowed down, thinking she might cause alarm if she ran at Malfoy with a crazed expression on her face. She walked toward the table and Malfoy looked up at her.

“Have you calmed down from your temper tantrum?” He smirked at her and she slammed the book down on the table.

“Page 394,” was all she said. She watched as he read it and his smirk fell from his face, the need to gloat on the tip of her tongue.

He looked up at her, “Granger do you know what this means?”

She shrugged her shoulder, “I figured it’s something to go off of.”

He stood up, pacing toward the window that overlooked the gardens below, “Now we have a place to start.”

He turned back toward her and she fingered the pages of the book, pride swelling in her chest.

“It took you less than a week to figure out what a team of researchers couldn’t find in a year. You’re bloody brilliant Granger.”

He laughed, clearly the excitement getting to him and he turned toward her suddenly. He picked her up in a hug, spinning her around as she giggled loudly in his ear.

“I could kiss you.”

Hermione stopped giggling and Malfoy stopped spinning. He dropped her to her feat and cleared his throat.

“I just meant that you’re brilliant Granger and you don’t need to come in tomorrow.”

Hermione stepped away from him, ignoring the fight or flight feeling in her stomach, “that’s all you needed? So now what? I go back to my shitty job?”

Malfoy looked bewildered for a moment, “No! Of course not. I just meant I’m going to check out his manor tomorrow and you can take the day off.”

“Like hell I am Malfoy,” Hermione crossed her arms and prepared for a fight, “I’m going with you.”

Malfoy paused for a moment, sizing her up before shrugging, “okay. We’ll leave at six tomorrow morning.”

Hermione nodded once before putting her arms back to her sides, “I’d better get home and sleep then. Night.”

She waved over her shoulder as she walked back to the floo. She paused outside the door, wondering if Malfoy would be following her out, but at the sounds of him picking up the books she decided to just leave. Neither of them wanted to talk about what had happened only moments before.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

Hermione arrived bright and early the next morning. Without waiting Malfoy held out his arm to her and they apparated to the small muggle village outside the manor that could hold the key to whatever it was they were searching for.

Only a few words were exchanged between Hermione and a local inn keeper. He directed them on a trail in the mountains to the manor that scared most of the village. Before they left the older man grabbed Hermione’s wrist, warning her that nothing good came from visiting the home. She gently tugged her arm out of his grasp and assured him that they could take care of themselves.

It took nearly two hours to hike up the mountain. Malfoy didn’t complain despite Hermione’s expectations. Every time she sat for a few minutes to rest Malfoy would grow antsy, setting off ahead of her. She would need to jog to catch up to his long gait. The silence between them was comfortable and Hermione took the time to take in the breathtaking sights around her. She would need to come back when she had the time to enjoy the beautiful landscapes.

When they finally stumbled on the manor it wasn’t what Hermione was expecting. Instead of the grand home she had imagined, the place looked much more abandoned and run down. There was a sign on the front lawn, warning those to turn around. They both walked to the place slowly, afraid that even the slightest gust of wind may knock the building over.

“Well this is typical,” Malfoy muttered, “leave a house to incompetent Muggles and they’ll let the place rot.”

“Oh shut up,” Hermione fired back, testing the front stairs to see if they would break under her weight. They held up fine and she motioned for Malfoy to follow her.

“Oi,” he said indignantly, “shouldn’t I be leading since I’m in charge here.”

Hermione paused, holding her arms out in front of her and bowing slightly, “after you,  _ My Lord _ .”

She raised her head, smirking at the scowl on his face, “just follow me and don’t fuck this up Granger.”

She rolled her eyes, letting him push open the door and enter the house. The inside surprised her just as much as the outside. Instead of the rotting mess she expected, the interior was elegant and pristine. As though it hadn’t been touched in centuries.

Malfoy whistled low, looking around the grand entrance of the home. Hermione couldn’t help but gape around her.

“Let’s split up,” Malfoy said quietly, “I’ll take upstairs you take downstairs.”

Hermione took her wand out of the hidden pocket in her sleeve, nodding once at him before casting a silent  _ lumos _ and walking past the staircase. She could hear Malfoy’s footsteps fade away as he went up to the second floor.

Room by room Hermione looked quickly, sweeping the area for any possible threat. While it had been years since she had encountered an actual battle the instinct still hummed loudly inside of her. Every room had been empty until she reached a pair of elaborate doors.

They were heavy, protesting with a groan against her push. She stopped suddenly, in awe of the sight before her. If she had thought the Hogwarts library was extensive, this place beat it by a long shot. As far as she could see, rows and rows of books created a maze around the room. She looked around, finding no signs of any trouble, and preceded into the labyrinth of the library.

She ran her hand along the shelves, letting it collect dust as she tried to find her way around. It took a few minutes before she reached an area that held a small table and chairs. Books were strewn about, stacks of paper covering most of a table, and a half empty inkwell and quill sat perfectly in the corner.

The hair on the back of her head stood up as she realized this wasn’t covered in dust. Someone had been here, recently, and they were looking through the books. Hermione’s breath quickened as she realized the person could be in the library with her this very moment. She paused, grabbing the opened books off the table and shrinking them before shoving it in the pocket of her jeans. She spun around, trying to remember where she came from and finally decided on a direction. Her feet carried her quickly and quietly, she stumbled a few times over books that were in her path.

She heard a cough and froze in her steps, hiding and staring through the bookshelf closest to her. An older man paused at the shelves in front of her. She couldn’t make out his face but when his sleeve lifted just slightly she could see the faded scar of the Dark Mark. Her heart stopped in her chest.

She waited for a beat or two before the man walked around the corner, disappearing behind another bookshelf. She let out a breath and looked at the books in front of her. All of them were covered in dust except for one, an unmarked book that resembled a journal. Hermione grabbed this one, shrinking in like the others and shoving it in her pocket.

Not wanting to wait around and be discovered Hermione started for what she could only hope was the direction of the door. She crept around each corner, praying to Merlin that she wouldn’t have a run-in with the Death Eater that was in the same room as her.

She turned a corner, wand poised for the attack, and slammed into a body. She let out a shriek of surprise, falling forward into the person. Arms caught her as they fell and Hermione was distantly aware she recognized these arms. They were the same that held her tightly yesterday. She stared down at Malfoy’s puzzled look with wide eyes. It only took a moment for her voice to echo through the library.

“Who’s there?” A voice shouted out, slamming a book somewhere near them. Hermione struggled off Malfoy, helping him up and looking around for the owner of said voice.

It wasn’t long before the Death Eater turned the corner, staring hard at both of them.

“Run!” Malfoy yelled, grabbing her hand and dragging her after him. They ran through the labyrinth, Malfoy’s grip never letting go of her.

“ _ Crucio! _ ” The voice yelled behind her and a jet of red just missed her shoulder.

She looked behind her briefly, pointing her wand, “ _ Stupefy! _ ” The spell bounced off the wizard’s shield. Hermione cursed as another  _ crucio _ just missed them by inches.

They turned a corner, running into a dead end. The pounding of the other’s footsteps was getting closer and Hermione could only think of one thing.

She aimed at the bookshelf, “ _ reducto! _ ” The bookshelf exploded at her spell, tipping over and knocking several down with it. The wizard cursed and yelled out as one of the shelves fell on top him.

“MacAvoy,” he shouted, “I need help.”

Malfoy didn’t let them wait long enough to meet MacAvoy. He pulled her along, her arm feeling as though it might tear from her shoulder. They ran for the entrance and unfortunately met MacAvoy. He stood in front of the doors, wand raised to the two of them.

Before anyone could react Hermione whipped her wand at him, “ _ Stupefy! _ ”

He blocked it easily and Hermione had to dodge the  _ crucio _ he sent her way.

Malfoy’s voice joined the fray, “ _ stupefy! _ ”

Spells were flying back and forth as Hermione tried to knockout their opponent.

_ Stupefy! _

_ Stupefy! _

_ Crucio! _

_ Stupefy! _

_ “CRUCIO!” _ The last spell hit Hermione in the calf and she fell, screaming out in pain. Malfoy doubled his efforts, finally landing a spell in the other man’s chest. He flew back, skidding to a stop in the hallway.

Malfoy paused, waiting to see if the other wizard got up before moving toward her. Hermione grit her teeth in pain and tried to stand on her own. Her leg gave out beneath her, still feeling the sting of the curse.

“Are you alright?” Malfoy had almost reached her before there was a cough behind them. Hermione turned to see the man she had trapped earlier now glaring down at them, wand trained on her.

“Put your wand down or she get’s a nice taste of crucio,” he addressed Malfoy. It was a split second decision, Hermione could tell, and instead of dropping his wand Malfoy pointed it the ceiling.

“BOMBARDA MAXIMA!”

The ceiling exploded, sending a shock wave across the library. Papers, books, and shelves exploded sending debris everywhere. Pieces of the ceiling were falling, creating a barrier between them and the dark wizard. A nearby bookshelf fell, trapping her leg beneath it. She screamed out, sure that her leg was broken. Her ears rang, vision swimming. Malfoy stumbled over to her, grabbing her shoulder. She looked over, dazed and trying to make sense of her shifting vision.

“We need to get out of here,” she screamed. He looked over at her, apparently affected by the same ringing she was.

“Granger, we need to get out of here!” He shouted back. It sounded like a muffled yell but she could read his lips clearly. She looked over, motioning to the shelf that had her leg trapped. She tried once more to dislodge her limb but it was stuck. Malfoy nodded, understanding at once, and moved to lift the shelf. She grabbed her leg and moved it as the shelf crumbled to the ground once more.

He reached out his arm and she took it right away. In a blink they were gone from the destruction and instead in his library at Malfoy Manor.  

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

She was distantly aware she could hear herself screaming. Malfoy scooped her up, careful of her injured leg, and hurried with her to another room. He kicked the door open and Hermione hoped he didn’t damage the door because of her. He laid her down on a bed and rummaged through a cabinet near her.

Hermione focused on her breathing, trying to take calming breaths but every time she shifted the pain flared up in her leg. She knew the ringing had stopped, replaced with a more painful feeling. She entertained the idea that her leg may be mangled beyond repair for a moment before Malfoy’s triumphant noise pulled her attention away.

He rushed over to her side, uncorking a vial of some kind of potion, “drink this.”

Hermione didn’t hesitate and quickly drank the potion down. It was a pain one. She could still remember the taste on her tongue from the days of running around and hunting horcruxes.

“I’m going to heal your leg now but it’s probably going to hurt and it will definitely be sore for a few days.”

Hermione nodded, biting her lip and squeezing Malfoy’s shoulder. He leaned down, gingerly taking her leg in his hand and pointing his wand at it. He muttered a healing spell and Hermione yelped out in pain once more. It felt as though her leg had been broken again but she felt the strange sensation of the bones righting themselves beneath her skin.

It was quiet in the room until laughter bubbled out of Malfoy. Hermione looked over at him, worried he may have hit his head or something.

He turned to her, the grin still plastered on his face, “Hell of a first week, huh Granger?”

She couldn’t help but join in with his laughter. She shifted and felt the books she had snagged earlier poking her thigh.

“Oh I almost forgot,” she sat up and reached into her pocket. She took out the books, returning them to their normal size with just a wave of her wand, “I found these in the library. I figured they might be useful.”

Malfoy snatched them off the bed, flipping through them excitedly. He looked up at her and she could see the excitement dancing in his eyes.

“You are most definitely the brightest witch of our age.”

Hermione smiled at the compliment, letting herself fall back into the bed. She felt the pain potion taking full effect and didn’t think to tell Malfoy to bring her home so she could rest.

“You can stay here,” he murmured to her and she realized she had said her thought out loud. She wanted to protest, knew it was what should have been done but instead she let her eyelids droop and the potion washed over her completely. She felt someone brushing the hair off her face and that was the last thing she noticed before beautiful peace took hold of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the love and kudos! Feel free to leave reviews and kudos as you read and I'll see you guys next week!


	4. Confrontation

When Hermione woke the next morning it took a few blinks before she remembered what had happened the night before. She sat up, examining the room around her. It was neutral and she could tell it was one of the numerous guest rooms in Malfoy’s home. She pushed the duvet off herself, knowing she wasn’t under it when she passed out.

Gingerly she tested the strength of her leg. She limped slightly with only a small amount of pain. She looked around, finding her wand on the nightstand and grabbing it quickly. For such an insignificant object to muggles, the wood was almost like an extension of her limb.

With one last glance around the room, she left to find Malfoy. She figured he would probably be in the library, going through the books she brought back. She was grateful he put her in a room near the library or else she may have gotten lost wandering around the large home.

As she neared the library she could hear the tell tale signs of Malfoy digging through books. She paused, taking a deep breath before entering the room.

He barely looked up as she sat in the chair next to his, letting her legs fall over the armrest.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Hermione looked down at her hands, nervously picking at her fingernails, “sorry for crashing here last night.”

“It’s fine Granger, you needed the rest.”

Hermione shrugged, looking at the table of books and papers that Malfoy had clearly been going through. A memory clicked in place from last night, the Death Eater. It sent chills down her spine and she realized it might be connected.

“Do you remember the man last night, the one that you blew the ceiling on?”

“Hmm,” was his noncommittal reply.

“He was a Death Eater.”

He looked up at her then, eyes narrowing at her remark, “a Death Eater?”

She nodded, fidgeting with the page of a book near her, “I saw his arm when I was hiding. He had the Dark Mark.”

“So what do you think it means?”

“That we’re messing around with dark magic? Obviously if Death Eaters are interested then we need to be more careful. Maybe someone hired them to look into it?”

Malfoy nodded, silently returning to the book in his lap, “I’ll look into it but at least one thing went well last night.”

“What?”

“You managed to grab one of Sendivogius’ journals but it’s entirely in code.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “sorry I didn’t think to check as I was running from the bad guy.”

He shrugged one shoulder, “I’ve been trying to break it all night.”

“Malfoy,” she laughed out, “this guy was a genius. He wouldn’t made it easy enough to break in one night. It’ll probably take weeks if not months to figure it out.”

“What should we do next?”

“You’re going to take the day off.”

“Excuse me?”

“You need to relax Granger,” he flipped to the next page, “take the weekend to rest your leg. We both need a break after the fiasco yesterday.”

“Fine,” she stood holding out her hand, “give me the journal so I can look it over this weekend.”

“What? No.” He held the book closer to his chest.

“Let’s be honest for a moment, I’m the one who will probably end up breaking the code. So if I can go home and study it then I’ll be a little ahead of myself if I only look at it while I’m here.”

“Granger it’s a wonder you can fit through the door with a head that big. This is my search you’re just along for the ride. I’ll be keeping it here where it’s safe.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes, “fine Malfoy. Keep it here and when I come back on Monday I want all day with it.”

“Fine.”

They stared down at each other for a moment, both waiting for the other to give in. Hermione was the first as she rose from the chair and headed toward the door.

“Have a good weekend Malfoy,” she threw over her shoulder as she left to floo home.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

When Hermione got home and changed into her lounging clothes, she sat on the couch unsure of what to do. This past week had been nonstop research at the Manor which meant there was no free time for her to plan anything.

She knew a floo call to Harry and Ginny would pep her up a bit. It only took a few seconds before Ginny’s face appeared in her fireplace.

“Well long time no see stranger,” Ginny smiled at her.

“Gin it’s been a week.”

“A horrible week where I haven’t heard from my best friend. Do you know what I had to do? I had to talk to Harry. About things.” She whispered as though it were a conspiracy and Hermione realized how much she missed her in the week they hadn’t talked.

“I’m so sorry you had to talk to your husband Gin, truly I am. Speaking of the spouse where is he?”

“Oh he took out Teddy for a trip to the store. We’re having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and Teddy insisted on making the sauce. Are you still come for dinner tonight?”

“As long as I’m invited since I’m only a stranger now,” Hermione pouted into the floo.

“Oh shove off it,” Ginny shook her head and grinned, “you’re always invited at the Potter household. Come by around five and you can witness Harry and I try to make sauce.”

“Ginny you’ve inherited your mother’s cook skills. You could make sauce out of whatever was left in the drain and it would taste great.”

“Oh stop you’re making me blush.”

Both laughed for a long minute before setting the plans. Harry arrived shortly after, peeking his head in to throw in a quick hello before scurrying after Teddy who had started to climb the living room curtains once again.

When Hermione ended the floo call she glanced at the clock. Only six hours to waste. She looked around her flat, deciding it needed a good cleaning since she had all but abandoned it for a week. Anything to keep her busy and not let her mind wander to whatever happened last night with Malfoy, whatever it could have meant anyways.

When she had finished scrubbing down the floors, airing out all the rugs, and washing her duvet only a few hours had passed. She figured a quick walk to the store to refresh her groceries would be able to kill enough time and leave her with some to get ready.

It was weird, she thought, spending time on her own. Even though Malfoy and her didn’t talk much it was still nice to have the company. Coming home to an empty flat was just another reminder of how lonely she had been feeling lately.

Hermione took her time wandering around the store, grabbing any essential groceries she was missing at home. When she finished checking out she left, walking into an alley and quickly shrinking the bags to fit in her purse. She figured a nice walk home would help to kill her time.

By the time she got home and put away the food it was five o’clock and she eagerly disapparated for the Potters.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

The scene in the kitchen, when Ginny led her to the back, was almost enough to make up for her horrible night. Teddy was standing on a stool that was levitating just above the stove. Harry was keeping watch, making sure that the toddler didn’t fall into the pot of sauce he was stirring. Every few seconds he would stick his fingers in, licking them clean, and smiling while Ginny reprimanded him for the action.

In no time at all the sauce was finished and they were sitting down to the table, making sure to leave a plate out for Teddy’s imaginary friend who hadn’t gone away yet. Dinner was a messy affair with sauce ending up everywhere, including the toilet upstairs, due to a magical outburst from Teddy demanding dessert.

Once everything was cleaned up and Teddy had been collected by Andromeda, the group retired to the living room. Harry handed Hermione a bottle of butterbeer and settled on the couch next to Ginny and turned to Hermione.

“So what happened to your leg?”

Hermione sputtered into her bottle, “what do you mean?”

“You were limping when you came in,” he said.

“And you said it had been quite a week when we flooed earlier.”

Hermione knew she wouldn’t be able to lie to her closest friends. She launched into the story of the past week, careful to leave out the intimate details. Harry grew more and more serious as her story progressed and she could see Ginny smirking behind her bottle.

“So let me get this straight,” Harry said once he processed everything, “Malfoy is knowingly leading you into danger and you’re basically his researching partner?”

Hermione grimaced, “pretty much. He’s paying me way more than I made at the Ministry and it’s nice to have a bit of an adventure.”

“If you say so,” Harry shrugged, “I had my fill of adventure in Hogwarts.”

“So what’s Malfoy like when it’s just the two of you?” Ginny asked, giving Hermione a pointed look.

Before she could answer, though, an owl flew to the window. It landed gracefully on the windowsill and began tapping on the glass. Harry got up to grab the owl and Ginny threw Hermione a look that said very plainly they would be discussing this later.

Harry came back, carrying a letter that looked like it had been hastily put together. He handed it to Hermione and she took it, looking back at the window the owl had flown to. It was gone and she turned her attention back to the mail. She opened it quickly, nearly tearing the letter in her rush. She smoothed out the letter, reading the short message quickly.

_Hermione,_  
_Please meet me at the Leaky Cauldron as soon as you can.  
_ _DM_

Why would Malfoy be sending her a letter? The only thing that came to mind was he broke the code and there was something important he needed to tell her. She stood up quickly, looking down at Harry and Ginny.

“I’m sorry I’ve got to go,” she said and turned to grab her coat.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s the letter about?” Ginny and Harry said at the same time.

Hermione shook her head, “no time to explain. Thank you for dinner and I’ll floo you tomorrow Gin.”

She waved as she ran out the door and apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

Hermione scanned the bar as soon as she walked in for the familiar head of blond hair. She didn’t see him right away and so she snuck around to a booth in the back. She knew plenty of former classmates that frequented the wizarding pub and wasn’t looking to run into any of them.

She sat quietly, continuing to scan the bar and door every few minutes. It wouldn’t be like him to write her and not show. But it definitely would be like him to keep her waiting for a while just to laugh at her squirming. She left the booth, weaving in and out of the crowd, to get to the bar. She ordered a glass of water, not wanting to get anything stronger, and took the drink back to her booth once more.

She checked her watch, thirty minutes had passed, and she decided that if he wasn’t there in the next fifteen she would leave. She glanced around once again and noticed a familiar head of red hair. Instantly she felt her stomach drop. She didn’t want to see Ron, especially after the week she had. She slouched down, rethinking her plan to leave in the event that he noticed her.

It wasn’t long before she heard his voice, “Oi ‘Mione!” He bumped into her, sitting heavily down in the seat across from her. His face was red from drinking and he slammed his mug of butterbeer down at the table, rattling the ice in her empty glass.

Hermione glared at the ginger in front of her. She looked around for Malfoy once more before turning to Ron again.

“What do you want?”

“Well I saw you sitting over here,” Ron pointed, sloshing his drink on the table, “and I figured we could you know talk and stuff.”

Hermione recoiled at the scent of his breath. She could smell the fire whiskey from across the table.

“Ron you’re drunk and I’m meeting someone so if you could kindly leave that would be much appreciated.”

“Are you meeting Malfoy? Harry told me all about how you’re fucking him. Are you doing it because of me?”

She crossed her arms, “my business with Malfoy is just that. _My business_.”

“Well if we were still together I wouldn’t let you get involved with whatever _your_ business is. Or have you become a slut for rich guys? I bet you’re just fucking him for the money right?”

Hermione was growing livid, “leave me alone.” She got up, but Ron was quicker. He cornered her against the wall, blocking her path with his body.

“Were you fucking him before? Were you sleeping with him when we were together?”

“Ron.”

“Did he fuck you better, is that it? Was his dick better than mine? Would the _mudblood_ prefer a more pristine bloodline to infest?”

Before she knew it, Hermione had slapped Ron across the face. The resounding smack made the entire bar go quiet as she seethed in anger. Ron’s head was turned to the side and an angry, red welt was forming.

“FOR YOUR INFORMATION,” she screamed, not caring that the crowd was now tuned in to their very public fight, “I HAVE NOT SLEPT WITH HIM. WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER. FURTHERMORE YOU’RE THE ONE WHO BROKE UP WITH ME. _YOU LEFT ME_. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. YOU DO NOT GET TO ACCUSE ME OF CHEATING WHEN YOU HAD YOUR SMALL PRICK BURIED IN EVERY OTHER WOMAN YOU SAW BEFORE YOU EVEN PROPOSED TO ME.”

With that Hermione shoved past Ron, ignoring the burning behind her eyes, and disapparated as soon as she got out. She stormed into her flat, writing a quick note to Malfoy to ask about where he had been, and went to bed. She didn’t even want to know what the tabloids would have to say about this in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just wanted to say thank you for sticking with me through this short hiatus. Unfortunately life got in the way a bit and my keyboard stopped working a month ago. I hope to have more weekly updates from here on out now that I can focus more time to writing! Once again thank you for the love I have been receiving and for reading. Please leave some kudos, comments, and follow the story for more updates! I hope you guys have a great week!


	5. Analysis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione spent the entire weekend on the lookout for a scathing report in one of the many tabloids that reported on her life. Not once did an article make its way to the light and she naively thought it was because they didn’t find interest in it.
> 
> She found out how very wrong she was when she flooed to the Malfoy Manor at her usual time. She didn’t find Malfoy in the library and wandered around until she found him in his study, head hidden by a copy of Witch Weekly with a picture of her leaving Ron behind. The title said it all, words large on the front to capture the attention of people.

Hermione spent the entire weekend on the lookout for a scathing report in one of the many tabloids that reported on her life. Not once did an article make its way to the light and she naively thought it was because they didn’t find interest in it.

She found out how very wrong she was when she flooed to the Malfoy Manor at her usual time. She didn’t find Malfoy in the library and wandered around until she found him in his study, head hidden by a copy of Witch Weekly with a picture of her leaving Ron behind. The title said it all, words large on the front to capture the attention of people.

_HERMIONE GRANGER: HEARTBROKEN HERO OR HARLOT?_

Hermione groaned, sliding into one of the large chairs across from the large oak desk. Malfoy lowered the magazine, peering at her over the edge.

“I see you had quite the interesting weekend,” he closed the magazine and dropped it on his desk. Hermione buried her face in her hands, feeling the burning behind her eyes once again. She refused to cry in front of Malfoy.

“How bad is it?” She didn’t look up at him.

“You should read it for yourself,” he slid the magazine toward her and Hermione tentatively reached for it. She flipped it to the story and began to read.

_After their very public split, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley are back to their old ways of very public fights. This past Friday, at the Leaky Cauldron, the former flames got into a row about alleged affairs._

_A source close to the broken couple claims Miss Granger has begun a new relationship with infamous womanizer Draco Malfoy. Witnesses overheard Mr. Weasley confronting Miss Granger about the budding romance. She refused to release information and the fight ensued. It ended with Miss Granger claiming Mr. Weasley was the one who was unfaithful in their three year relationship long before they ended it and assaulting him in the pub. Sources have other things to say about it, however. Lavender Brown, Mr. Weasley’s current girlfriend, offered a glance into the private lives of the two war heroes._

_“Well it was only a matter of time he confronted her about it. I knew she would never be satisfied with someone as amazing as Ron. Back in Hogwarts when Ron and I were together, she constantly tried to break us up. I think that once she had him she got bored. She was always a bit of a flirt in school. She was always all over Harry and Ron. Everyone thought she was only friends with them to get into bed with one of them. She wasn’t even pretty in school and she had that Krum guy all over her during the Triwizard Tournament. I bet Rita Skeeter was right about her brewing a love potion. She’s just too brainy and thinks she’s better than everyone around her. I knew she would cheat one day but I never imagined she would snag Draco Malfoy.”_

_When asked about Mr. Weasley’s alleged affairs Miss Brown had this to say, “I know for a fact Ron never cheated. He began to suspect Granger of cheating and he brought his concerns to me. I was there for him when his own fianc_ _ée was turning her back on him.”_

_We here at Witch Weekly think it is absolutely disgusting when a partner cheats. We can understand Mr. Weasley’s ask for privacy in this difficult time. Miss Granger did not respond when reached for a comment. We hope both parties get their happy ending even if some don’t deserve it._  

“My favorite part,” Malfoy smirked, “is that I’m some womanizer. It’s nice to know I could tarnish the pristine reputation of Hermione Granger in only a week.”

When Hermione finally looked up, she wiped a tear from her eyes and Malfoy’s smirked dropped instantly. He looked alarmed at the tears falling from her eyes. She cursed herself for crying.

“Woah Granger,” he frowned, “I was only joking.”

She furiously wiped at her eyes, “it’s not you it’s this bloody magazine. They’ve already decided I’m some slut and now everyone will be thinking it! The last time this happened I kept getting hate mail for months. People were furious Ron and I broke up and blamed me. I had to move to avoid people coming to my house and trying to curse me!”

Malfoy got up, moving around the desk to sit in the chair next to Hermione. She watched him quietly, unsure of what he was going to do. He held out his hand and she stared at it for a moment before he rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand with his 

“If anyone comes to your house to harass you they’ll have me and I’m sure Potter to deal with.”

Hermione shrugged in response, “I guess.”

“You’ll be fine,” he whispered, his thumb rubbing calming circles into her hand, “I promise.”

She nodded, wiping at her eyes once more, “I’m going to clean myself up. I’ll meet you in the library?”

“I’ll be right in.”

Hermione got up and left for the bathroom. Once there she closed the door and leaned against it. That was the second time a moment had happened between the two of them. If she wasn’t careful that article could come true. It didn’t even strike her as odd that Mafloy would stick up for her after only a few weeks of working together. 

She quickly washed her face and hurried to the library. The sooner she could focus on work the sooner that article would be out of her mind. She found Malfoy sitting at the table again, though this time there were a dozen books stacked around him.

“I see you had a busy weekend too,” she remarked as she sat in her favorite chair. She ignored the fact that she now had a favorite chair in the Malfoy Manor of all places.

“I’ve been researching. Did you want to look at the journal?”

He held out the small, leather bound book that Hermione had yet to get a good look at. She grabbed it eagerly and settled down for a summer of researching.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

It was two weeks later and they still hadn’t made progress in breaking the code. The past two weekends Hermione had taken the journal back home to study it and was still stumped about it. They had begun to bicker once more.

“Malfoy!” Hermione had called from the kitchen. She waited for a beat and went back to the library.

“Malfoy.” She repeated again and he barely looked up to acknowledge her.

“What?”

“I’m hungry,” she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame.

“Congratulations? Go eat something.”

“You don’t have any food.”

He looked up at that, “what?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “your kitchen is empty. Don’t you usually go grocery shopping?”

He stared at her, a puzzled look crossing his face very briefly, “no Daisy does it with whatever magic she has.”

“Okay,” she sighed, “where is Daisy?”

He looked down at the book, rubbing the back of his head, “it’s her week off.”

Hermione was surprised. She didn’t take Malfoy to be someone to treat his elf well let alone give her time off.

“You give her time off?”

Hermione was sure she could see a bit of a blush creeping up his neck.

“Yeah,” he grunted, shutting the book, “how about I take you to lunch. That way you can eat and I can get out of this place. All these books are going to give me a headache.”

“I’m shocked they haven’t already,” she laughed. They made their way to the gate of Malfoy Manor before Hermione grabbed his arm for a side-along apparition. They ended up in Diagon Alley, heading toward a newer cafe that had recently opened.

Hermione ignored the people gawking at the two of them, keeping her head held high. She had received quite a few pieces of hate mail but simply threw it in the fire. When Ginny had flooed the next day to tell Hermione that it was a stupid article, she demanded that Hermione forward the mail to her so she could try and track the sender. So far it had not worked.

She was, however, quite thankful when Malfoy quietly asked for a table in the back. He didn’t care about the attention but he knew she was rather self conscious about it. They were sat immediately, Hermione was sure this was because she was with Malfoy, and she looked through the menu as Malfoy requested a pot of tea.

She watched as a steaming pot and two teacups floated over to their table, carefully avoiding anyone who may get in its way. Three jars accompanied the platter and Hermione assumed they were different types of tea. Malfoy browsed them for a moment before selecting one with the tip of his wand. Hermione could smell the instant the tea had been selected and Malfoy poured a cup for himself and her.

Hermione wasn’t sure how she put in her order and glanced around as people simply tapped their menus and their food appeared in a moment. She looked back at her menu, taking her wand out of her robes and tapping the option for a prawn salad.

Her menu whisked itself back to the maître d' and her salad was sitting before her when she looked back down. Malfoy had ordered a panini for himself and had wasted no time in beginning to eat.

Hermione poked at her salad, “Since when have you given Daisy time off?”

Malfoy almost choked on his food but was dignified enough to not let it show. He swallowed, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and leaned back in his chair.

“I’ve been doing it since control of the manor was left to me. I guess a bit of your preaching in school rubbed off on me.”

Hermione smiled into her food, content that something she had done in school actually affected someone. She didn’t think anyone had listened to her other than Harry or Ron and that was mostly an obligation that came with being her friend.

They ate slowly, enjoying casual conversation. It was a nice break from the long silences and bickering from the stress of their research. All too soon they were done and Malfoy insisted on paying for everything. Hermione frowned but thanked him nonetheless.

They got up and Hermione ignored the tingles that shot down her spine as Malfoy placed his hand on the small of her back. They walked out and apparated back to the Manor to continue their endeavor.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

“What is it supposed to be?”

Hermione frowned down at her creation, “it’s a cake.”

The cake in question was a vibrant green color and leaning heavily on one side. The frosting was melting off in places and it looked as though it was caving in toward the middle.

“And why did you bring this with you?”

Hermione smiled, pushing the cake across the table toward Malfoy, “it’s your birthday and I made you a cake. It’s something friends do.”

Malfoy looked up at her, “so we’re friends now?”

Hermione went a bit pink, looking at her sad dessert, “well yeah. I figured we could have a little celebration for your birthday.”

“I don't really celebrate it. Besides 22 isn't exactly a big year.”

Hermione frowned again, “Well I'm celebrating for you whether you like it or not.”

She placed a small candle in the cake and lit it with a flick of her wand. Malfoy just stared at it.

“What am I supposed to do with that?”

“You've never blown out birthday candles before?”

“Father never really approved of birthdays and I’m pretty sure that started as a muggle tradition. He said it was banned from this house.”

“Well I’m unbanning it,” she grinned.

Malfoy stared for a moment before closing his eyes and preparing to blow out the candle.

“Wait!” Hermione startled Malfoy and his eyes shot open, “you need to make a wish too.”

“Make a wish?”

Hermione nodded, “it’s tradition.”

Malfoy smirked up at her, “well we can’t mess with tradition now can we?”

This time when he closed his eyes, Malfoy paused a moment before blowing out the candle.

“You can’t tell me what the wish is,” Hermione told him as she pulled the cake back toward herself and cut two pieces. She magicked two plates and forks, placing the pieces on them. She slid one toward Malfoy, who looked mildly concerned with the piece.

“Try it,” Hermione said as she scooped up a bite for herself, “it’s my grandmother’s recipe and it was delicious when she used to make it.”

Malfoy picked up a small bite of his own and they looked at one another before placing the bites in their mouths.

The reaction was instantaneous. Malfoy choked on his piece and Hermione looked as though she may throw it up. Both spit the pieces on their plates and pushed the cake away from themselves.

“Merlin’s bloody beard Granger,” Malfoy managed between coughs, “that was awful.”

Hermione looked at the cake that had now fully collapsed in the middle. “I don’t know what went wrong. It was supposed to be good.”

“Well at least now I know one thing the great Hermione Granger is rubbish at.”

Hermione glared across from him, “I’m not rubbish at baking. I make very excellent cookies to be completely honest with you.”

“Yeah well cakes are not your forte then.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “anything else you want to insult about my cooking skills?”

“Well where can I start then?”

Hermione frowned, glancing down at the cake before a wicked grin split across her face. She scooped up a small bit of cake and flicked it towards him.

It hit him on the cheek and he paused swiping it from his cheek. He looked down at it before a grin split across his face. He grabbed a handful of cake and Hermione jumped up.

“Malfoy don’t you dare do it.”

“Do what?” He asked innocently and chucked the piece at her. It hit her square in the face and she sputtered as she tried to get it out of her eyes.

“Oh you’re in for it,” she warned as she dug the last of the horrendous sweet out of her eyes.

They both grabbed more handfuls and began a food fight. When at last they had run out of ammo there wasn’t a surface in the vicinity that wasn’t covered in cake. Malfoy and Hermione lay on the floor, laughing as bits of cake dripped from their face, clothes, and hair.

“I must say Granger,” Malfoy said as he began to clean up the mess effortlessly, “your cake may not have tasted great but it was exceptional for throwing.”

Hermione grinned, waving her wand at a few books to scrub them clean, “well I’m glad it was useful for something. Is there anything else you want to do today? I think I’m a bit caked out to go over these books again.”

Malfoy paused, “I think my birthday this year was quite satisfactory. I don’t have anything else in mind to be honest. 

“Well perhaps we can go get some edible cake to celebrate,” Hermione was still picking food from her curls, “there’s an excellent bakery not far from my flat.”

He smiled at her, and Hermione was positive this may have been his best birthday in recent years, “I would love that Granger. As long as you’ve had no hand in making it.”

“Oh shut it,” she grumbled, flicking the last piece of cake at him before darting toward the door. Her laughter was soon followed by Malfoy’s thundering steps as he chased after her, threatening to make a cake just to shove her face into it.

 

-[ - ]-[ - ]-[ - ]-

 

“Granger!” Malfoy was calling into her floo but Hermione couldn’t get up to answer him. She had been sick the past weekend and was now feeling the brunt of it. His constant calls were starting to irk her and so she climbed out of bed and stumbled to her fireplace.

“What Malfoy?”

“Merlin’s Beard Granger,” she could see the disgust on his face, “you look terrible.”

“I feel terrible,” she mumbled, resting her face against the edge of the fireplace, “what do you want Malfoy?”

“You haven’t been by in a few days and you haven’t been answering my owls.”

“I’ve been sick. I didn’t know you cared.”

“You had me worried Granger. In fact,” he paused and Hermione heard shuffling from the other side of the floo, “I’ll be right back Granger. Head to bed”

“Okay.”

Hermione didn’t need convincing to get back to bed. She crawled under the covers and heard the distinct sound of someone flooing into her home. She had no doubt that Malfoy must have contacted Harry to have him check on her.

She couldn’t hide her surprise when Malfoy walked in, juggling books in both arms. Her home had been connected to his through the floo network for the last few weeks as it was easier to get to and from the manor this way.

“Since you couldn’t make it into work today,” he smirked at her, “I’ve brought work to you.”

Hermione didn’t protest when he dropped books onto her bed and pulled up a chair to sit next to her.

“Malfoy you don’t need to do this,” she tried to argue but he held up his hand to silence her.

“We’re working on a tight schedule Granger so it would be best for you to lie back and suck up whatever knowledge you can get from those books. We need to crack that code as quickly as we can. Now you start and I’ll go make us some tea.”

“I didn’t know you could cook for yourself,” Hermione joked.

“I don’t have to Granger,” he smirked again and held up his wand, “honestly I forget you’re even a witch sometimes when you say shit like that.”

“Whatever,” she smiled into the book she had cracked open.

The day passed with comfortable silence. Throughout the day Malfoy would get up to get her a fresh cup of tea or to grab the tissues she was slowly running out of. He had even insisted on getting her soup. She couldn’t hide the shock from her eyes because he took one look and shrugged.

“I heard it’s what muggles do to feel better.”

Later in the night, with the lamp on her nightstand casting a warm glow in the room, Hermione couldn’t help but feel her eyes grow heavy. She let the book in her lap full, hearing the dull thud of it falling to her carpet. A moment later she felt fingers, quickly pushing back a few curls from her face, before the glow of the light left and she fell into the best sleep she’d had in the past few nights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been quite a while. After a year of having the worst kind of writer's block I've come back to this story. It's been something I often think about and have planned so much around and yet anytime I sat down I wasn't inspired. Suddenly out of the blue I was very inspired and wrote a 13 page chapters, one of the longest I've ever written! I ended up splitting this monster into 2 parts. They will cover the course of roughly 3 months, skipping several weeks at a time. Hopefully this will help speed the story along now that I've got the writing bug again. As always kudos and comments are always welcome! See you next week for part 2!


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